John Cannan – författare

For two days in early May,1864, a dark woodland south of the Rapidan River known as the Wilderness rang with the clamor of battle. The musketry and cheers of the troops of the Confederacy and the Union were deafening as charge gave way to countercharge. Fires erupted which consumed the dead and wounded, filling the air with the stench of burning flesh. The battle of the Wilderness was what many witnesses would describe as "hell on earth." The Wilderness Campaign traces the early maneuvering of Ulysses S. Grant's offensive against the Confederate capital at Richmond and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The resulting battle was Grant's first fight in the Eastern theatre after President Lincoln gave him command of all the Union armies. It was an engagement that Grant sought to avoid, but wholeheartedly accepted when he confronted lee's army. It ended as one of the bloodiest repulses of the Civil War. John Cannan details Grant's strategy and planning as he moved his army ever closer to confrontation. The vivid descriptions of the confused fighting and battle chaos give the reader insight into the desperate quality of Civil War combat. The book also includes fascinating sidebars about the personalities and units involved, as well as other interesting topics on the war itself, such as religion in the Southern army, the telegraph, the draft, and the parole and exchange system. With eleven maps and over fifty illustrations

A detailed examination of one of the Civil War's most tragic battles pitting Robert E. Lee against Ulysses S. Grant

September 17, 1862, over 25,000 men became casualties in the battle of Antietam, on the Civil War's single bloodiest day. Confederate and Federal infantry and artillery faced each other at close quarters in the woods around the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, and particularly along the banks of Antietam Creek. The famous actions at the Cornfield, the Dunker Church, Burnside's Bridge, and the Bloody Lane are covered in vivid detail, drawing on the personal accounts of the commanders as well as lesser-known writings of ordinary soldiers. The famous units on both sides, the most colourful commanders, the civil War's youngest casualty, and Clara Barton's baptism of fir are all accorded their proper place. The Antietam Campaign goes far beyond this, however. John Cannan's classic work has undergone extensive revision under the editorial direction of renowned Civil War historian David G. Martin to reflect new information and new interpretations of recent years. The battle of Antietam is placed clearly within the context of the strategic and political situation in the second year of the Civil War, and is seen as part of a larger military campaign that included actions at Harpers Ferry and South Mountain. The strengths and weaknesses of Union commander George B. McClellan are examined with unusual fairness, and viewed in the light of Abraham Lincoln's search for a commanding general. Robert E. Lee's often-misunderstood aims in the campaign are clarified with reference to the best available research, and his supply and manpower problems are described in a forthright manner that overcomes a century of romanticism and wishful thinking. Specially prepared maps, a detailed order of battle, and specialized sidebars supplement the main narrative. Individual deeds of heroism are placed against a backdrop of the valuable lessons of this campaign, with its intelligence failures on both sides, its political considerations, its evolving operational doctrine, and the unique attempt by both armies to win the allegiance of the local population.